The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

News for April 2010

09.04.2010 Zhodzina authorities pressurize opposition candidate

The local authorities in Zhlobin press on Yauhen Basareuski, a member of the Belarusian Party of Leftists Fair World.

09.04.2010 KGB interested in oppositionists' computers

On 9 April, Andrei Sannikau, the European Belarus leader, received back his laptop, unlawfully seized on the border.

08.04.2010 Vitsebsk: another detention of candidate for deputy

In the night of 7-8 April, the road police detained the car with Volha Karach, deputy of the Vitsebsk city council of the 24th convocation, and her husband Aleh Barshcheuski, on suspicion of carjacking.

08.04.2010 Homel regional council of the BPF Party decided to revoke its candidate

The Homel district council of the Belarusian Popular Front Party held a sitting at which it was decided to revoke its candidate, medic of the Homel city polyclinic Vasil Ramanau who was running at election constituency #8. As a result, the constituency will become non-alternative – only the pro-governmental candidate Viktar Shutau, manager of motor car park #8 will run there.

08.04.2010 Police confiscated circulation of another edition of ‘Vitebskiy Kuryer’

The car of Vikar Ramniou, the founder of Vitebskiy Kuryer, was stopped by policemen in the Mahiliou region, on the way from a Smolensk printing house.

Central Election Commission proposes Mahiliou city executive committee to review its decision on determination of places for agitation

08.04.2010 Central Election Commission proposes Mahiliou city executive committee to review its decision on determination of places for agitation

As it is stated in the answer from Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, to human rights defender Barys Bukhel, CEC offered the Mahiliou city executive committee to introduce supplements to its decision on determining the places for holding mass events connected with electoral agitation.

08.04.2010 Hrodna: important information is concealed from electors

The state-owned newspaper Hrodzenskaya Prauda serves as almost the only source of official information about the elections in Hrodna. However, it tends to conceal some important information from the electorate. For instance, the edition that features information about the candidates for the Hrodna city and the Hrodna regional Councils of Deputies wasn't retailed at the newsstands of Belsayuzdruk. Its complete version was sent only to libraries.

08.04.2010 Brest regional court upholds non-registration of Mikalai Charnavus' candidacy

On 7 April, Heorhi Dzmitruk, Judge of the Brest regional court, considered the complaint of the Baranavichy entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus with participation of prosecutor Halina Vasilevich.

08.04.2010 Beshankovichy: electoral speech by candidate Heorhi Stankevich not broadcast by local radio

The electoral speech of the member of the unregistered party Belarusian Christian Democracy Heorhi Stankevich, a candidate for the Beshankovichy district Council of Deputies, was recorded, but wasn't broadcast but the local radio. He was explained that putting the speech on the air was banned by the district election commission, because as a result the candidate could 'defame other candidates for the district council of deputies' and 'the content of the speech isn't related to issues of the candidate's program'.

08.04.2010 Homel regional court doesn’t know the law

The Homel regional court refused to consider the complaint lodged by Uladzimir Tseliapun, a member of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, against the non-registration of his candidacy, referring to Article 246, part 1 of the Civil Process Code.

08.04.2010 Candidate Tatsiana Kuushynava issued with a warning

The Minsk Savetski distict election commission issued a warning to Tatsiana Kuushynava, a candidate running at the Masherauskaya election constituency #47, for distribution of agitation materials without imprint.

08.04.2010 Grassroots protests of entrepreneurs in Minsk and Brest

Workers of Zhdanovichy car market, one of the biggest market in Belarus, went on strike.

08.04.2010 University provost persuades student to withdraw from elections

On 7 April, Aleh Huseu, a provost of Belarusian National Technical University, called student Uladzimir Dziaviatka, a candidate to the Minsk city council in the Bahdanovichskaya constituency, for a conversation. He asked Dziaviatka about running in the local council elections, mfront.net reports.

07.04.2010 Official Minsk whitewashes itself before UN

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus has passed to the UN Human Rights Committee the National Report on the situation of fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens within the guidelines of the Universal Periodical Review, a procedure that had been established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2006. This is the first time that such a large document is received from Belarus. The report will be heard at the session of the Human Rights Council in May.

07.04.2010 Mahiliou regional election commission apologizes for ‘technical mistake’

On 7 April, human rights defender Uladzimir Krauchanka received a letter from the Mahiliou regional election commission, signed by its Chairperson, N.V.Belanohau. The official apologizes for the ‘technical’ mistake made in the previous answer to Krauchanka (let us remind that from that answer it followed that the regional election commission was established on 27 December 2010).